It seems Orcon is now ONLY interested in NEW customer's and they forget about existing customers.Just found out via their website the price of Fibre 30 has dropped from $99 to $95 per month as of August 26th 2014, so I called to find out why I'm still paying $99 and was told this new price only applies to NEW Orcon customers, when I asked if the new price will be applied to existing customers at all, I was told no it won't the company has no intentions of doing that, it seems Orcon is getting worse and worse, how will it end up being now Slingshot owns them, not a happy chappy!

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

sbiddle: How is this different to any other company in NZ? If you have a term contact, you'll typically find it's for a specified price for a specified term.

Snap and Spark have both had price drops or plan improvements in recent time that they allowed in-contract customers to get the benefit of, without even signing a new contract.So I don't agree it's completely normal.My bigpipe vdsl also dropped $10 recently, and I didn't have to do anything, it was just given to me without me even asking. (Although bigpipe don't have term contracts at all, so there is that)

To the op, if you don't like this kind of behavior, then you need to show your annoyance by switching ISPs at the end of your current contract, and switching to an ISP that either allows plan changes within contract, or even better doesn't have a contract at all.

Businesses are 'coin operated' . They go where the profit is. If you don't show your displeasure by leaving, then they will continue the behavior that you don't like. You need to reinforce the behaviour you do like by choosing ISPs that exhibit that behavior.

FireEngine: There isn't a blanket price drop for existing customers as existing customers (mostly), have contracts.

Those customers coming off contract, and new customers, can choose what they do going forward from any plan available to them.

A contract has benefits both ways, equally any hypothetical price rise would not apply to customers in contract.

Without checking, I'm pretty confident your contract has a term in it giving you the right to change prices, which means you can put the price up or down if you want. So you absolutely could apply a price increase to in-contract customers.

NonprayingMantis: Without checking, I'm pretty confident your contract has a term in it giving you the right to change prices, which means you can put the price up or down if you want. So you absolutely could apply a price increase to in-contract customers.

True, as far as I am aware all ISPs have such a clause in case the underlying charges from Chorus change. "Could" and "would" are however different things, such changes are handled via the Plan, with a price generally being fixed for a Plan, and the availability of new plans (at new prices) being used to adjust prices up or down when the customer next chooses, or has the option to choose.

That is exactly what is happening here, new plans (at the new, lower price point), are available to anyone free to choose them, that includes new customers, those existing customers out of contract, or those willing to pay the early termination fee on their existing contract.

This is UFB, there are contract terms from the LFCs to recognize the install costs, I'm not aware of any ISP that doesn't pass these on.

Now that ufb has been around for a bit and people are starting to come off contract, wouldn't be surprised if ISPs started offering no contract options very soon on ufb since they won't have the installation costs on customers that are simply moving ISP.

I've checked again with Orcon Billing (Would you believe the billing department now work 7 days) and they say even after the contract has finished my price will stay at $99, I can chage the paln (Same plan, new price) so long as I go on another 12 month contract, so regardless their trying to keep people on contracts knowing how ofe=ten people jump ISP's this way they can't for 12 months.So once my contact is up I'll be looking for another cheaper ISP with a call centre in NZ (doubt there would be any)

starspanglenz: I've checked again with Orcon Billing (Would you believe the billing department now work 7 days) and they say even after the contract has finished my price will stay at $99, I can chage the paln (Same plan, new price) so long as I go on another 12 month contract, so regardless their trying to keep people on contracts knowing how ofe=ten people jump ISP's this way they can't for 12 months.So once my contact is up I'll be looking for another cheaper ISP with a call centre in NZ (doubt there would be any)

The Residential Helpdesk has always taken Accounts/Billing queries as well as Fault reports, no change there.

Once out of contract that doesn't trigger an automatic plan change.

You can stay on the $99 plan as an out-of-contract account (no issues with that, just give 30 days notice to leave as per standard notice), or you can look at the new plans we offer.

If you want no contract though, I think you are already on a good price with no contract for those features.

Ok So I want to go from Fibre30 $99 per month to Fbre30 $95 per month, same service the only thing that has changed is the price, the service is the same, the quality is the same, the phone number is the same, so why do we have to sign a new 12 month contract for "downgrading" it's not bloody downgrading FFS, it's the same service, same everything except the price is $4 cheaper, how is that "Downgrading" it's NOT, downgrading would be me going from "Firbre" to ADSL, ADSL2+ or VDSL or god forbid Dial up!I also see there is a huge LACK of Billing/Technical/Customer Service Training in the Philippines.

Whilst writting this I was put through to "April" in Accounts who I was told would be better suited to let me know bout this, she said changing from the $99 plan to the $95 plan will not effect my plan the same contract will stay in place and will still end in April 2015.She's set me plan to change on the 23rd to Fibre30 $95 per month, I'll be calling back a week after that to check the expiry date of my contract, if that has changed someone will get an ear full!